OpenOffice.Org Newsletter - Vol. 01 Issue 9

[Gordon Darling]

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OPENOFFICE.ORG NEWSLETTER

Volume 01 - Issue 9 - 03/2004

Please send news clippings to:
(e-mail address removed)

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Highlights in this Newsletter
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* Microsoft releases OpenOffice.org 1.1 Competitive Guide
(Competitive/Market Info)

* OASIS Milestone Reached (Announcements)

* OpenOffice.org BizDev Project (Announcements)

* Singapore Ministry of Education and Argonne National
Laboratory Turn To Java(TM) Enterprise System for Dramatic Cost Savings
(Success Stories and References)

* Evaluating the ROI of Open Source on the Desktop (Resources)

* Se habla open source? (Developer and Administrator News)

* Migrating, Upgrading, and Obsolescing: A Legacy Windows Wrap-Up
(OpenOffice.org/StarOffice/Linux Migration)



Announcements
#########################################################################

OASIS Milestone Reached
-----------------------
"An important milestone in the evolution of a universal XML file format
has been achieved. In a unanimous vote, the OASIS Open Office XML Format
TC has formally approved the Open Office Specification 1.0 Draft 12.

The completed phase one specification now goes before the OASIS general
membership for comment and approval. The discussion period and vote date
have yet to be determined."

http://www.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?list=discuss&msgId=1122898


OpenOffice.org BizDev Project
-----------------------------
"We are proud to announce the opening of the Business Development project
of OpenOffice.org (BizDev) The goals of this project are to build a
business partners' network around OpenOffice.org .

In this regard the BizDev project is the place where commercial leads, and
business and consulting information can be discussed. It is a project for
services professionals who are looking for customers, projects, and for
contributing the way they want. Several companies have already joined the
BizDev project. Among them is the Olliance Group, based in Palo Alto,
California, a consulting firm pushing the adoption of Open Source Software
and open standards in large companies. They believe in this project and
think that letting businesses participate and generate wealth around
OpenOffice.org is a major asset in today's industry.

"We are seeing and hearing a need for a more supportive and integrated
approach from the community to address users requirements in deploying Open
Source solutions. Creating a project where service providers can present
themselves, communicate, and discuss customers needs and topics such as
best practices is a bold, innovative, and needed step by OpenOffice.org
said Andrew Aitken, Managing Partner, Olliance Group, a leading OSS
strategic consulting firm.

As a first step, the BizDev project volunteers have built a business
directory called the Consultants' Directory
(http://bizdev.openoffice.org/consultants.html ) where consulting
businesses get listed in order to maximize their visibility to the public
and the community. This list already provides a large amount of information
and is still growing."

Source: Charles-H. Schulz (BizDev Project Lead)
http://bizdev.openoffice.org/


OpenOffice.org 1.1.1RC3
-----------------------
"Release Candidate 3 of OpenOffice.org 1.1.1 is ready for download.

*<http://download.openoffice.org/1.1.1rc3/index.html>

It incorporates numerous bug fixes and is cleaner than RC1. However, we
are asking you, the community, to make sure that there are no outstanding
issues remaining.

Therefore, please download RC3 and test it. If you find any bugs or
regressions, file an issue describing it. To learn how to file an issue,
visit our QA Project:

* <http://qa.openoffice.org/issue_handling/project_issues.html>

This build is so far in English."

Source: Louis Suarez-Potts


OOo 1.1 Portuguese Native-Lang translation
------------------------------------------
The N-L Portuguese team released the OpenOffice.org 1.1 in Portuguese.

For about about 4 months we've worked in the glossary and on the HUGE
GSI file of OOo1.1. We've faced some problemas with the build, mostly
because of the Windows build and some template problems, that Olivier
Hallot from the PT-BR Team helped us solve it. For him, one big hug for
the important and essential help.

Also, the QA released 3 public RC's, on which the last one, had been
downloaded in 3 days, 2.000 times for Windows and 400 for Linux.

More information can be found here (in Portuguese):
http://pt.openoffice.org/html/ooopt-marketing-pressrelease-1.1f_PT.html

Source: Louis Suarez-Potts


FontOOo 1.0
-----------
"Please find here the official announcement of FontOOo 1.0

Based on DicOOo principle, this tool let you install free fonts into OOo
(no system installation is performed).

You'll find FontOOo at: http://oooconv.free.fr/fontooo

This is an official call for testers and translators in the same spirit
as DicOOo.

For contributing to your native lang translation, please refer to issue
http://www.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=25372

Please note also that german team is preparing an HowTo.
http://www.christianmarkgraf.de/ooo/tryouts/FontOOo/fontooo.html

Thanks to all translators and hard workers. Especially
Kevin Hendricks, Rolf Meyer and Christian Markgraf"

http://oooconv.free.fr/fontooo
Source: Laurent Godard


OOo Education Mascot Competition
--------------------------------
There is a competition to choose the OOo Education mascot!!

It only takes a few seconds to vote, and the mascot will help
in publicing OOo to schools.

Vote here:
http://www.math.umd.edu/~dcarrera/openoffice/mascot/vote.cgi


Announcement Archive
--------------------
All new and past annoucements can be found in the announcement list
mailing list archive at

http://www.openoffice.org/servlets/SummarizeList?listName=announce



Success Stories and References
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USA
===

Microsoft Is Facing Long-Term Adjustment
----------------------------------------
"Forrester's Schadler said his research team recently
interviewed officials of 140 major North American companies
about their software plans. Of those, 65 are using open-source
applications, and 20 are planning to.

And 12 of the 140 are using an open-source competitor of Office,
known as OpenOffice, while eight are planning to."

http://www.bizreport.com/article.php?art_id=6557



Netherlands
===========

City of Haarlem moving to OpenOffice.org
----------------------------------------
The city of Haarlem (approx. 150.000 inhabitants) is about
to migrate from Office97 to OpenOffice.

More information can be found on:
http://www.ososs.nl/article.jsp?article=8703



Singapore
=========

Singapore Ministry of Education and Argonne National
Laboratory Turn To Java(TM) Enterprise System for Dramatic Cost Savings
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Coupled with the growing worldwide adoption of Sun's StarOffice(TM)
productivity suite, now in use by millions of students and faculty in
more than 165,000 school districts, higher education institutions and
ministries of education in 21 countries, the compelling advantage of
Sun's software solutions is gaining a foothold in the education market.
The rapid adoption of StarOffice is fulfilling Sun's vision to equip
students and teachers worldwide with access to low-cost office
productivity software based on open source technology."

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/s...04/0002120063&EDATE=TUE+Mar+02+2004,+03:01+AM


France
======

City of Lille considering migration to OpenOffice.org
-----------------------------------------------------
The City of Lille is requesting proposals for the creation of
an OpenOffice.org migration study. French web page:

http://www.lillemetropole.fr/page.p...tiles/services/procedures_adaptees/&Item=3293
http://www.lillemetropole.fr/page.php?P=data/services_interactifs/sites_utiles/





French Officials Eye Open-Source Apps
-------------------------------------
"The French government will install open source software on the desktop
as part of Project ADELE,
a plan to computerize much of the country's administration by 2007, a
government official says."

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,114759,pg,1,00.asp



UK
==

MPs call for Gov.uk to switch to open source (maybe)
----------------------------------------------------
"Central government should replace Microsoft software with
open source equivalents - if trials show the switch is
practical, the Public Accounts Committee said yesterday."

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/35876.html


India
=====

Haryana goes the open-source way with Sun
-----------------------------------------
"He said the Haryana government had decided to adopt the
software because of the 'monopolistic and whimsical behaviour
adopted by Microsoft for its Office software.'"

http://inhome.rediff.com/money/2004/mar/03sun.htm


ICICI OneSource Dumps Microsoft Office For Sun
----------------------------------------------
[N.B. 1 lak = 100,000. Therefore 72 lakh = 7.2 million. The currency
used is rupees]

"ICICI OneSource, a Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services
provider, has undertaken a bold move of switching its desktops from
Microsoft Office to Suns StarOffice 7, saving a whopping Rs 72 lakh in
the bargain."

"Regarding the obvious compatibility qualms that first time users have
- as Microsoft Office is by far the established standard used worldwide
Prashanth said, There are many, but so far we have faced a few with
respect to Word and Excel formats when advanced features are employed.
"

"Apart from its lower price, another advantage of StarOffice 7 over
Microsoft Office is its cross-platform support. Where Office 2003 will
run only on Windows 2000 and XP, StarOffice 7 supports Windows 98, ME,
NT, 2000 and XP, as well as Linux and Solaris. The software offers
functionality to enable export to PDF, and the Macromedia Flash format,
and supports 10 languages."

http://www.cxotoday.com/cxo/jsp/ind...section_code=1&file=template1.jsp&storyid=720


BharateeyaOO.o Gives Open Office a 'Desi' Push
----------------------------------------------
"BharateeyaOO.o (BharateeyaOpenOffice.org), a project initiated by
Bangalore-based Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) -
formerly known as NCST has gained significant headway in making
OpenOffice accessible to regional language users in India.

The group - founded about two and a half years back has a primary
objective to internationalize and localize OpenOffice, Suns Open
Source initiative."

"The team incorporated Complex Text Layout (CTL) support for Indian
Languages into OpenOffice, and Kannada and Telgu versions of the
software are next on the agenda."

Localisation effort at:
http://hi.openoffice.org
http://ta.openoffice.org
http://www.ncb.ernet.in/bharateeyaoo

Story at:
http://www.cxotoday.com/cxo/jsp/ind...section_code=1&file=template1.jsp&storyid=716


Namibia
=======

Namibian OSS workshop produces Kiswahili dictionary
---------------------------------------------------
"Kiswahili speakers can now spellcheck documents in their own language.
A group of developers taking part in the Africa Source joined forces -
and resources - to develop the first-ever Kiswahili dictionary."

"During a series of workshops and a skills sharing session at the
Africa Source gathering, Githeko and Bailey worked on cleaning up the
wordlist and preparing it to create the Kiswahili dictionary. During
one of the mid-week sessions the final dictionary was created and
released to the world of OpenOffice.org users."

http://www.translate.org.za/
http://www.tectonic.co.za/default.php?action=view&id=281&topic=Open Source


Germany
=======

German distributor sells more than a million copies of Sun's StarOficce
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Sun Microsystems says that German OEM software distributor Markement
has sold more than one million copies of Sun's StarOffice. The
milestone marks more that 40 million copies distributed to date, and
puts StarOffice and its open source counterpart, OpenOffice.org, "as
one of the most popular choices among consumers, enterprises and
governments worldwide," according to the company."

"Markement, based in Stuttgart, Germany, sells StarOffice both as a
standalone program and as part of its popular PCSuite office bundle.
This German productivity package also includes CorelDraw Essentials,
Norton Anti-Virus 2004 and Marco Polo TravelRouting Europe 2004, a
European travel-planning program."

http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS2163896330.html
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1551056,00.asp

Additional reporting:
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040318/sfth016_1.html
http://www.cxotoday.com/cxo/jsp/ind...section_code=1&file=template1.jsp&storyid=744



Turkey
======

OpenOffice.org Magazine
-----------------------
"As I've mentioned before, an OpenOffice.org magazine (one-shot only,
not periodical) will be out here in Turkey on Saturday, this week. It
mentions OpenOffice.org's most wanted features, along with other
practical tutorials about Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, HTML and Math.

You may want to see the cover page on http://www.gorkemcetin.com/kapak.jpg
for informational purposes. It's in Turkish however."

Source: Görkem Çetin



Solutions
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OpenOffice debuts bizdev community
----------------------------------
"The OpenOffice project has created an online meeting place for
developers, consultants and business users of the OpenOffice and Sun's
StarOffice office suites.

Covering both OpenOffice and Sun's StarOffice the bizdev.openoffice.org
site aims build a network and provide a meeting place between all those
hoping to develop and use alternatives to Microsoft's Office. As a
first step the bizdev group has opened a directory of consultants who
specialise in open source office products. The group also allows
members to set up their own mailing lists to generate sales leads and
possible partnerships."

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/news_story.php?id=54031
http://bizdev.openoffice.org/


A Computer Lab with No Windows
------------------------------
Part 1:
"An application of the Linux Terminal Server Project in Manitoba's
largest high school."

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=7418&mode=thread&order=0

Part 2:
"Finishing the lab setup, the benefits of OpenOffice.org and looking to
the future."

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=7419&mode=thread&order=0


Pravakta Plug-in for OpenOffice.org 1.1 Writer
----------------------------------------------
The Matrubhasha group at CDAC (Formerly NCST) Bangalore India has been
working on building Speech Synthesis products for Indian Languages.

Pravakta is a speech plug-in that has been developed recently for
OpenOffice.org 1.1 Writer

Pravakta can be downloaded from:
http://www.ncb.ernet.in/matrubhasha/products.shtml#pravakta

Source: R.K.V.S.Raman (leader of Matrubhasha group at CDAC
Bangalore India)


Sun Shares Its Strategy
-----------------------
"Sun Microsystems is planning new tools for its StarOffice desktop
software package that could make it easier to attract Microsoft Office
users.

Later this year the company plans to ship an update to StarOffice that
will include converters for moving macros created in Microsoft Office
to StarOffice, said Jonathan Schwartz, Sun's top software executive."

http://www.silicon.com/software/os/0,39024651,39119258,00.htm
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,115230,00.asp
http://www.crn.com/sections/BreakingNews/dailyarchives.asp?ArticleID=48670



Customer/User Feedback
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Open Office, a free option
--------------------------
"WHO would have thought that in the seemingly techie world of computer
software, there exists a movement, akin to the free speech movement in
the 1960s, called the free software movement or the open source
movement."

"The free software is called Open Office 1.1 and what it offers users
are word processing, spreadsheet and presentation programmes akin to
the all-too-famous Microsoft Office, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft
Powerpoint"

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2004/2/22/education/7328377&sec=education


Linux For The Desktop: It's A Contender
---------------------------------------
"It bundles in Sun's StarOffice 7, which includes a word
processor, spreadsheet, and presentation program compatible
with Microsoft Word (MSFT ), Excel, and PowerPoint. It doesn't
have all the bells and whistles of Microsoft Office, but it's
more than good enough for most users. StarOffice had little
trouble handling even relatively complex Office files."

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_09/b3872038.htm


The Best Bang For Your Tech Buck
----------------------------------
"Open a Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file using OpenOffice for Linux and
you'll probably have to reformat. Save it to return to Word users, and
there's a chance they're going to have to do the same thing. What it
comes down to is there's no equivalent of MS Office for Linux--and
don't expect one to emerge anytime soon."

http://www.inc.com/magazine/20040301/buyersguide.html



New Books, Documents and Collateral
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The OpenOffice Navigator (A history of OOo)
-------------------------------------------
"Four years ago, OpenOffice.org didn't exist. Today, it is probably not
only the largest free software project in the world, but also the most
important. On a personal level, it's also become a major feature of my
life - which explains this column."

http://www.linuxworld.com/story/43710.htm?DE=1


Book review: OOoSwitch: 501 Things You Wanted to Know About Switching
to OpenOffice.org From Microsoft Office
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"To make OpenOffice.org a more appealing option, Granor has written
this detailed and helpful manual, which is filled with step-by-step
instructions on how to replace costly Microsoft Office deployments with
open-source applications while maintaining office productivity and
adequate features."

http://www.computerworld.com/developmenttopics/development/xml/story/0,10801,90528,00.html



Resources
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Evaluating the ROI of Open Source on the Desktop
------------------------------------------------
"When people hear that open source software is often free and overall
cheaper than proprietary solutions, they're intrigued. But how much
cheaper is another question. What other costs are involved? This
article examines the budgetary impact of migrating corporate desktops
to open source solutions. This is one of many areas where open source
can positively impact IT budgets."

http://www.linuxworld.com/story/43720.htm?DE=1



Awards & Reviews
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Yes, you can lowercase capital letters
--------------------------------------
"If you don't have MSWord or WordPerfect, the free OpenOffice suite
offers similar options by going to Format>Change Case. Speaking of
OpenOffice, I have been very favorably impressed with this free suite
(www.openoffice.org) that has most of the same features as MSOffice,
WordPerfect Office and MSWorks.

Users of OpenOffice can easily open files created in programs such as
Word, Excel or Powerpoint by clicking on File>Open, choosing the
appropriate program from the Files Of Type list, and then navigating to
the target file.

Conversely, OpenOffice documents can be saved as MSOffice files,
including saving them to a particular version (such as Word97 or
ExcelXP).

OpenOffice also handles most graphic files, such as BMP and JPG, along
with HTML files."

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/03/07/news/columnists/computer_tutor_don/3_6_0420_27_32.txt



Developer and Administrator News
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Se habla open source?
---------------------
"Still, hundreds of developer teams have taken up the dare, working to
translate open-source
software such as OpenOffice and the KDE interface for Linux into
languages ranging from
Azerbaijani to Xhosa."

"The l10n localization effort for OpenOffice lists completed projects
covering more than 30
languages, with projects for twice as many more under way. KDE, one of
the most popular desktop
interfaces for the Linux operating system, is available now in more than
40 languages, with
another 40-plus in the works. The open-source Mozilla Web browser is
available in 59 languages,
and support for dozens more is on the way."

http://news.com.com/2100-7344-5159179.html


XML Patent Paradox
------------------
"OpenOffice.org has offered a free, open XML file format for over 3
years, while Microsoft has just begun to introduce their own
implementation of XML in their new office suite products. MS is
attempting to patent their software's internal methods of handling XML
as well as their own XML schemas."

http://www.osnews.com/story.php?news_id=6068


XML Matters: XML for word processors
------------------------------------
"Free software and XML document formats are a natural pairing.
The inherent readability of XML just makes interchange and
format specification easier, and the wide availability of XML
libraries makes creation of new tools simple. Moreover, looking
at these word processor formats has really helped me to see the
modularity benefits of namespaces -- when done correctly,
namespaces can leverage the work done by many groups of
independent developers.

However, XML itself only goes so far. For example, Microsoft
is also moving towards an XML format for future versions of
MS Word; but in contrast to the openness of the
OASIS/OpenOffice.org or AbiWord formats, Microsoft is
surrounding its format with patent applications, and putting
a veil of secrecy around the format variations (plus it uses
cryptic tag and attribute names rather than self-documenting
ones).

XML by itself does not really mean open, but fortunately,
the developers of KOffice, AbiWord, and OpenOffice.org have
done a generally wonderful job of obtaining openness with XML
(albeit, the wild world of community development still leaves
occasional impedance mismatches in, for example, DTDs)."

http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/xml/library/x-matters33/



Tips, Tricks & How-Tos
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"Marcel's Linux Walkabout: Extra! Extra!"
-----------------------------------------
"OpenOffice is a fantastic office suite; an excellent replacement for
Microsoft Office that will cost you no more than the time it takes to
download and install it. OpenOffice and its commercial cousin,
StarOffice, are cut from the same cloth, but paying for StarOffice does
provide you (among other things) with a number of extras including
templates and a large collection of clip art. In today's Walkabout,
Marcel Gagne shows you how to even the score somewhat with a great
collection of free templates."

"If you are using OpenOffice.org, however, you might have noticed that
it doesn't come with a huge number of document templates. That's one of
the differences between OpenOffice.org and its commercial sibling,
StarOffice, which contains many templates and icons, and has a large
selection of clip art among its value-adds. Despite all that, you don't
have to feel like the poor cousin. There is a way to enrich your
collection of templates without spending any extra money."

"The sorts of things you'll find here include Calc templates for
invoices, payment rosters, and budget and mortgage calculators.
Templates for Writer include greeting cards, newsletters, reports of
various forms, and CD covers. Labels tend to be particularly useful,
and OO Extras contains some nice mailing labels, as well as CD and DVD
labels. There is even some artwork and a few interesting little tidbits
there that don't fit quite so comfortably into other categories. For
instance, there's a template for creating your own OOzilla monster (see
Figure 1). I'll leave the business justification of that project as an
exercise for the reader."

http://www.informit.com/articles/article.asp?p=169676
http://www.ooextras.org/


OpenOffice.org Off-the-Wall: Bullet Proof Templates
---------------------------------------------------
"A new bi-monthly column focusing on how to use OpenOffice.org
efficiently and effectively."

"A template is a document whose design can be used by other documents of
the same kind. A

template also may contain an outline for the contents. This is
especially helpful in Impress,

whose Autopilot feature allows you to select one template for format and
another for the outline.

However, most of the tools for templates assume you are using them for
design."

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=7447&mode=thread&order=0



Competitive/Market Info
#########################################################################

Microsoft releases OpenOffice.org 1.1 Competitive Guide
-------------------------------------------------------
Why You Should Choose MS Office Over OO.org
http://slashdot.org/articles/04/03/25/1950234.shtml?tid=109

Microsoft displays fear, uncertainty, and doubt toward OpenOffice.org
http://software.newsforge.com/software/04/03/27/0134204.shtml?tid=132&tid=82&tid=93

Microsoft FUD Machine Aims at OpenOffice.org
http://slashdot.org/articles/04/03/27/1919256.shtml?tid=109&tid=185&tid=187


Comments/opinions reg. the OpenOffice.org 1.1 Competitive Guide
---------------------------------------------------------------

"1. Ease of Use

Due to OpenOffice.org's similarity to Microsoft Office most people
don't need a lot of retraining. Besides, there is a huge focus on
usability for the next major release. On the other hand,
OpenOffice.org has some superior tools and concepts like the
built-in one-click PDF export, the Navigator and the Stylist.

Recently a German computer magazine tested different word processors
and came to the conclusion that OpenOffice.org and StarOffice are
superior with respect to the creation of long documents like a diploma
thesis.

With respect to database support, OpenOffice.org provides a powerful
database frontend that can be used with many different database
systems in the backend. Besides, in many cases the migration to a
new desktop platform also turned out to be a good time to consolidate
the huge number of hard to maintain local MS Access databases into
one web based platform that uses a secure and performant server
database in the backend.


2. Tailored Solutions

Due to the fact that the source code of OpenOffice.org is available
for everybody and that the file format for all applications is an
open XML file format it is possible to create very tailored
solutions based on OpenOffice.org. A list of companies that have
already created innovative solutions based on OpenOffice.org can
be found on the OpenOffice.org developer web page at
http://development.openoffice.org/.

Integrations and integration prototypes from SAP, FileNet,
Software AG and others were demo'd at CeBIT (Hannover, Germany)
last week.


3. Support When Needed

Support for OpenOffice.org is available from large global companies
as well as a huge and fast growing number of small local companies.
A list of companies providing support can be found at
http://support.openoffice.org/index.html.


4. Better and Faster Work

Due to the fact that OpenOffice.org and StarOffice are used at many
schools and universities less people need retraining simply because
they have used OpenOffice.org or StarOffice right from the
beginning. At the same time more and more software vendors are
integrating their products with OpenOffice.org in order to simplify
collaboration. In addition, OpenOffice.org is available on all
major desktop platforms including Windows, Linux, Mac OS X and
Solaris. This includes the open XML file format support.


5. Seamless Information Exchange

Not only does OpenOffice.org have quickly-improving import and
export filters for Microsoft Office, it also supports the creation
of popular exchange formats like PDF and Flash out of the box.
In addition, OpenOffice.org is available for many operating
systems and languages. Recipients of an OpenOffice.org file can
simply download the latest version of the software for free in
order to open and edit the document. Thus, nobody is forced to
buy expensive software.

For e-mail based collaboration and calendaring a growing list of
products is available including Mozilla, Evolution, Eudora, Glow
and others. On the server side there is again the choice between
free open source tools like OpenGroupware.org and commercial
products like the groupware products from Sun Microsystems
and Novell.


6. Easier Deployment and Maintenance

OpenOffice.org allows an unattended installation via scripts
(so-called "reponse files"). In addition multiple vendors
provide deployment and mangement solutions for their
OpenOffice.org based products. A few examples are the StarOffice
Configuration Manager and the Sun Control Station as well as
Novell's Red Carpet. In order to minimize migration costs
different companies including SCAI and Sun Microsystems are
working on migration tools.


7. Security

The virus issues of the last few months have clearly shown
that almost exclusively systems with Windows and
MS Office were affected. Although no operating system can
guarantee invulnerability regarding virusses, the combination
of OpenOffice.org and a non-Windows operating systems has
proven to be very secure.


8. Investment You Can Trust

The OpenOffice.org file format is the basis of the OASIS
Open XML File Format which will be used as the default file
format in future versions of OpenOffice.org. Therefore, the
file format is controlled by a standards body instead of a
single vendor. In addition, the availablity of the source
code in connection with strong support through the
OpenOffice.org community and companies like Sun Microsystems
ensure ongoing innovation and improvement."

Source: Stephanie Berger, (e-mail address removed)



Sun bases prices on countries' populations
------------------------------------------
"For example, a country participating in the programme could
use Sun's software for its internal operations to enrol people
in health care plans, to provide schools with computing
infrastructure and to give citizens desktop computers, Jonathan
Schwartz, executive vice

president of Sun's software group,
said in a meeting with reporters. The company plans to begin
the programme by the end of June, he said."

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/linuxunix/0,39020390,39147982,00.htm


Microsoft Is Facing Long-Term Adjustment
----------------------------------------
"Forrester's Schadler said his research team recently
interviewed officials of 140 major North American companies
about their software plans. Of those, 65 are using open-source
applications, and 20 are planning to.

And 12 of the 140 are using an open-source competitor of Office,
known as OpenOffice, while eight are planning to."

http://www.bizreport.com/article.php?art_id=6557


IBM Eyes Office for Linux
-------------------------
"As part of its initiative to put Linux on the desktop, IBM wants to
migrate Microsoft's Office suite to Linux. Microsoft said it's not
involved and suggests that IBM might do it by emulation."
....
"IBM might consider Sun Microsystems' StarOffice as an alternative,
since StarOffice already runs under Linux. However, this is not on the
horizon now."

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,114782,00.asp
Additional reporting: http://www.linuxworld.com/story/43653.htm


Third package announced for PC Gemilang project
-----------------------------------------------
"The Energy, Communications and Multimedia Ministry and the Association
of the Computer and Multimedia Industry of Malaysia (Pikom) have
announced a third package for their PC Gemilang programme, which seeks
to make available affordable PCs to the Malaysian public."

"The PC Gemilang project, which officially kicks off next Monday, was
announced earlier this month with two models: An RM988 (US$260) PC running a
Linux-based operating system and bundled with the OpenOffice
productivity suite; and an RM1,147 (US$302) desktop with the Bahasa Malaysia
version of the Microsoft Windows XP operating system and Works Suite
2004."

http://star-techcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file=/2004/3/12/technology/7525432&sec=technology
http://www.idg.com.sg/idgwww.nsf/0/954F93F62C284D3F48256E4C00333C91?OpenDocument
http://news.com.com/2100-1016_3-5168029.html


How will Office 2003 DRM impact interoperability
------------------------------------------------
"In the near future, will we be able to open and access files from our
coworkers, our clients, or our students?"
....
"Last October, OpenOffice.org released the 1.1 version of its office
productivity suite."
....
"Roughly a month later, Microsoft released Office 2003. This product
was freshly-infused with digital rights management (DRM) technologies,
dubbed "information rights management" by Microsoft, designed to secure
and restrict access to documents as needed. Documents employing DRM
created in Office 2003 may well only be accessible via Office 2003.
More recently, Microsoft filed for numerous patent applications in New
Zealand and Europe, covering the interoperability of XML-based word
processing documents.

What do these tactics mean for interoperability between current and
pending versions of Microsoft Office and competing products such as
OpenOffice.org and StarOffice?"

http://software.itmanagersjournal.com/software/04/02/09/0520213.shtml?tid=35&tid=44&tid=70&tid=83


StarOffice takes on Microsoft
-----------------------------
"Some pundits, including Gartner Dataquests Michael Silver,
say that one key to the success of StarOffice 7--now available
in Linux, Windows and Solaris flavors--is its open XML file
structure. Many widely available XML tools--from Sun or not--
can be used to edit files. Plus, it has an inexpensive price
tag. Those factors together, he told internetnews.com, could
translate into a 10% chunk taken from Microsofts current
dominance in the market segment."

http://www.pdfzone.com/news/877-PDFzone_news.html


Competitor to 'Office' faces mighty challenge
---------------------------------------------
"I said "monopolies" on purpose. The power of Microsoft's desktop
operating system is matched only by the dominance of its Office suite."

"What he demonstrated struck me as more advanced in some ways than the
Microsoft product. EIOffice 2004 puts a word processor, presentation
package and spreadsheet into a single application, not a collection of
programs. The integration is smooth and deep, and there's a natural
feel to the way it all works together. Overall, the product looks slick
and capable of handling serious chores."

"I'm referring to OpenOffice (www.openoffice.org), the open-source
spin-off of Sun Microsystems' StarOffice suite, which runs on many
different platforms including Windows and Linux and is getting better
with every release. Sun, meanwhile, is offering StarOffice at extremely
low prices.

But Sun doesn't offer StarOffice on the Mac, and neither Sun nor Apple
has lifted a finger to help the OpenOffice community create a decent
Mac version. EIOffice might find some willing customers there."

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/business/8011680.htm
Addiotnal reporting:
http://www.record-journal.com/articles/2004/02/22/news/business/business02.txt


Sun Microsystems and SingTel Mobile to deliver mobile office
------------------------------------------------------------
"Wireless solutions company RADIXS today unveiled the world's first
universal mobile operating system, which offers users the power of the
PC alongside the ability to create information and be entertained while
'on the go."

"Sun Microsystems' premier office suite, StarOffice 7, will see its
first mobile version deployed on RADIXS MXI which is completely
compatible with Java."

http://business-times.asia1.com.sg/story/0,4567,108882,00.html
Additional reporting:
http://bourse.lerevenu.com/newsdepe...ews=CPN040224_00084114&numligne=2&date=040224

More technical details at:
http://rcrnews.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?newsId=17197


US Army orders Microsoft to stop sending free software
------------------------------------------------------
"US federal agencies are warning workers that accepting the software
Microsoft sends the staff of its large customers may violate ethics
policies

Microsoft has been mailing free copies of its pricey Office
productivity software to government employees, but CNET News.com has
learned that at least two federal agencies are warning recipients to
return the gifts or risk violating federal ethics policies

"We looked at it as a marketing gambit," said Arthur Gary, deputy
director of the Interior Department's ethics office. "We just wanted to
apply the gift rules to it." "

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/0,39020645,39148213,00.htm


Big Blue straightens up for partner push
----------------------------------------
"The costs accumulate on the desktop. Licenses for (Microsoft)
Office and Windows XP cost a few thousand dollars per desktop,"
said Papageorgiou. "Microsoft doesn't justify the huge difference
with StarOffice (productivity suite) for many of my customers."

Papageorgiou said that converting customers from a Windows-based
to a Linux-based desktop application does require training. But
for smaller companies with 100 to 300 employees, training can be
done in a day and is not prohibitively expensive.

http://asia.cnet.com/newstech/systems/0,39001153,39170131,00.htm


Corel sets WordPerfect update
-----------------------------
"Software maker Corel announced a new version Monday of its WordPerfect
office software, marketing the package as a low-cost alternative to
Microsoft Office for consumers and small businesses."

"WordPerfect has faced new competition in recent years from Sun
Microsystems' StarOffice and its free open-source sibling OpenOffice,
which have benefited from efforts to include the applications as part
of a broad strategy to replace Microsoft on the desktop."

"The full version will sell for $300, and upgrades from a previous
version of WordPerfect or a competing product will cost $100."

http://news.com.com/2100-1012_3-5167441.html?tag=nefd_top


Windows lets in local languages
-------------------------------
"Microsoft will help governments adapt its programs for their native
language, as it attempts to defend its territory against open source"

"As previously reported, Microsoft is facing a growing challenge from
overseas adoption of open-source software, which can be adapted to
local languages as long as there are a few developers willing to invest
the time and effort to do so. OpenOffice, an open-source alternative to
Microsoft's Office, is currently available in more than 30 languages,
with projects for twice as many more under way. Office 2003, by
comparison, is available in 34 languages."

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/windows/0,39020396,39149336,00.htm



OpenOffice.org/StarOffice/Linux Migration
#########################################################################

Migrating, Upgrading, and Obsolescing: A Legacy Windows Wrap-Up
---------------------------------------------------------------
"Two weeks ago, I noted that the actual cost of software--that is, the
price one pays to license
a particular software product--is typically one of the least expensive
aspects of a system's
overall lifetime cost. But several readers, faced with Microsoft's new
licensing schemes, are
discovering that this is often no longer true. "I'm in the middle of
making a technology plan for
a [non-profit organization] and I'm finding that this is increasingly
not the case," one reader
noted. My suspicion is that we've reached an unprecedented point in the
PC price model: Whereas
typical PCs cost $1500 or more just a few years ago, today you can
purchase full-featured PCs for
less than $500. Thus Microsoft's OS (and, potentially, Microsoft Office)
licensing fees represent
a much greater percentage of the upfront costs of a PC than they did
before. I suspect that's one
of the many reasons people are starting to evaluate open-source desktop
solutions such as Linux
and OpenOffice.org in increasing numbers.

On a related note, a few readers opined that, by extending the support
life cycle of Win98,
Microsoft was giving Linux a chance to catch up. Systems that are now
running Win98 will be
unable to support Windows XP or Longhorn in a year or two, but these
Pentium II- and Pentium
III-era boxes with small amounts of RAM might make good candidates for
desktop Linux
installations, further stretching out the cost of the hardware. And
let's not forget the
application software these legacy desktops are running. Most Win98
desktops are probably running
Office 2000 or Office 97, or other, older software packages that are
either unsupported now or
will be soon. I still believe that Linux and OpenOffice.org training
costs and a loss of expected
features will be problematic, but with another year or two to improve,
who can say? Suddenly
migrating a wide range of users to new hardware and software systems can
be both expensive and
painful. "

<http://www.winnetmag.com/Article/ArticleID/41756/Windows_41756.html>


Users Wary About Open-Source Alternatives to Windows OS
-------------------------------------------------------
" Even though plenty of corporate IT managers say they think Windows
and Office are overpriced, that doesn't mean they're flocking to check
out open-source alternatives."

"Curran added that his company looked into Sun Microsystems Inc.'s
StarOffice productivity suite but rejected it because StarOffice had
compatibility problems with both EnterpriseOne and Microsoft Office. He
said retraining costs and the lack of training available in the Calgary
area also were factors. "Our users are not technically literate,"
Curran said. "This type of change would hurt them too much.""

http://www.computerworld.com/softwaretopics/software/story/0,10801,90610,00.html


Linux Saves Big Money
---------------------
"Pittsburgh-based Maronda Homes now runs desktop applications on its
550 PCs with OpenOffice, Linux software downloaded off the Web from
www.openoffice.org."

"The basic idea is that running OpenOffice is cheaper, and over time
the desktop applications will develop," says Mark Piccolo, Maronda's
director of management information systems."

http://www.linuxinsider.com/perl/story/33013.html


Linux (Finally) Ready for the Desktop
-------------------------------------
Story on how the linux desktop is ready for mainstream use, including
how OOo is a main part of this success.

"Yankee Group analyst Laura DiDio said the SMB (small and medium
business) segment of the Windows installed base is most likely to
consider or commence a wholesale migration to Linux desktops."

"Included with Red Hat's desktop Linux platform are the Mozilla Web
browser, project planning tool MrProject, MailClient for e-mail, and
OpenOffice, a suite of business applications similar to Microsoft
Office that Woods said is quite capable in any enterprise environment."

http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/21695.html


Upgrades make Linux so easy to use
----------------------------------
"Like all Linux desktop systems, both came with OpenOffice word
processing, spreadsheet, slideshow and drawing. OpenOffice is still on
the slow side and not as polished as Microsoft's equivalents but it
passes the "good enough" test.

I had no trouble transferring files back and forth between OpenOffice
and Microsoft Office. There were issues with font display,
justification and formatting. But I've found that's true between
different versions of Windows and even between Windows PCs supposedly
running identical versions."

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/personaltechnology/2001872755_ptlinux060.html


HP Starts Pushing Desktop Linux
-------------------------------
"The company is working on a new desktop kit based on the 2.6 Linux
kernel that will offer a choice of KDE 3.2, Gnome 2.4 or the
house-brand MandrakeGalaxy 2 desktop environments as well as OpenOffice
1.1."

http://www.linuxworld.com/story/44054.htm


Novell to offer users a Windows experience on a Linux desktop
-------------------------------------------------------------
"The office productivity package is derived from the open source
Openoffice software.

Gaines said Novell's plan was to allow users to exchange information
easily with Microsoft Office and Exchange."

"He said the Ximian Openoffice suite allows users to exchange documents
with MS Office. For instance, Powerpoint slides can be run and edited
on the Ximian system."

http://www.computerweekly.com/artic...iChannelID=126&liFlavourID=1&sSearch=&nPage=1


Life after Microsoft - One firm's complete conversion to open source
--------------------------------------------------------------------
"After a run-in with Microsoft and the BSA, Sterling Ball converted all
his company's operations to open-source software. He explains why he'll
never go back to Redmond's products"

"But since jettisoning all of Microsoft products three years ago, Ernie
Ball has also gained notoriety as a company that dumped most of its
proprietary software -- and still lived to tell the tale."

"Ball's IT crew settled on a potpourri of open-source software -- Red
Hat's version of Linux, the OpenOffice office suite, Mozilla's Web
browser -- plus a few proprietary applications that couldn't be
duplicated by open source."

http://insight.zdnet.co.uk/software/linuxunix/0,39020472,39115887-2,00.htm



Statistics
#########################################################################

OpenOffice.org
==============

Highlights
----------

* More that 26,400,000 have downloaded OpenOffice.org
so far (as of March 6, 2004).

* The OpenOffice.org project has more than 15,200
unique people subscribed to the mailing lists
(as of March 6, 2004).

* 402 people and companies have signed a JCA and are thus
either already contributing or considering to do so
(as of March 25, 2004).

* 1369 people have participated in the OOo developer
survey so far (as of March 25, 2004).

* OpenOffice.org User Survey Data

Total number of respondents since Oct 29th 2002:
466704

New entries by Month:
Jan 2004 - 32368
Feb 2004 - 32493
Mar 2004 - 28631

=======
Users count by country. Top 20 countries:

United States 105250
Germany 54443
France 25878
United Kingdom 20591
Italy 16886
Canada 14837
Brazil 13457
Netherlands 12134
Poland 11318
Spain 11152
Japan 10700
Australia 9078
Switzerland 6621
Belgium 6170
Denmark 5686
Finland 5456
Czech Republic 4526
Sweden 4401
China 4299
Austria 3784

=======
Users count by native language:

en 175249
de 66413
fr 34838
es 21684
it 18082
nl 16146
other 15082
br 13076
pl 12025
ja 10741
ru 6587
da 5853
fi 5686
zh-cn 5216
sv 4813
hu 4244
zh-tw 3740
pt 3545
ca 2316
tr 2166
el 1924
et 1908
sl 1652
ar 762
ko 750
th 205

=======
How did you find out about OpenOffice.org ?

1.Press Article 102930 = 22.05%
2.TV/Radio 7956 = 1.4%
3.Website 158416 = 33.94%
4.A friend 102705 = 22.00%
5.Search engine 33855 = 7.25%
No answer: 60806 = 13.02%

=======
Where are you primarily using OpenOffice.org ?

home 328511 = 70.38%
work 158611 = 33.98%
school 30641 = 6.56%
no_answer 50724 = 10.86%

=========
What applications do you primarily use in
OpenOffice.org ?

writer 374491 = 80.24%
calc 214005 = 45.85%
impress 62687 = 13.43%
draw 64609 = 13.84%
html 64605 = 13.84%



Events
#########################################################################

Upcoming
========

LinuxExpo
---------
Prague, Czech Republic
2004/04/1-3
http://www.linuxexpo.cz/

DLS
---
San Diego, USA
2004/04/22-23
http://desktoplinuxsummit.org/

FISL
----
Porto Alegre, Brazil
2004/06/3-5
http://captacao.softwarelivre.org/english/captacao2004-en-1.5.html

Guadec
------
Kristiansand, Norway
2004/06/28-30
http://2004.guadec.org/

OpenOffice.org Conference 2004
------------------------------
Berlin, Germany
2004/09/23-24
http://marketing.openoffice.org/conference

Invex
-----
Brno, Czech Republic
2004/10/11-15
http://www.invex.cz/



Newsletter Archive
#########################################################################
Past issues of the OpenOffice.org Newsletter can be found in the archive
of the announce mailing list:

http://www.openoffice.org/servlets/SummarizeList?listName=announce



Contact Information (regarding this newsletter)
#########################################################################
(e-mail address removed), (e-mail address removed) or
(e-mail address removed).

 

[Ben Cooper]

############################################################
#############

OPENOFFICE.ORG NEWSLETTER

Volume 01 - Issue 9 - 03/2004

[snip]

Thanks, Gordon, I just subscribed.

 

[Gordon Darling]

############################################################
#############

OPENOFFICE.ORG NEWSLETTER

Volume 01 - Issue 9 - 03/2004

[snip]

Thanks, Gordon, I just subscribed.

I'm still trying to work my way through it!!

Regards
Gordon

 

[Ben Cooper]

############################################################
#############

OPENOFFICE.ORG NEWSLETTER

Volume 01 - Issue 9 - 03/2004

[snip]

Thanks, Gordon, I just subscribed.

I'm still trying to work my way through it!!

Heh, I'm a fast reader.